It's not often that someone makes two bogeys during a three-hole aggregate playoff and still wins the golf tournament, but that's exactly what Rory McIlroy did against J.J. Spaun on Monday morning en route to winning The Players Championship for the second time.
Facing cold and windy conditions on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy made a statement early, hitting his opening tee shot at the 16th hole 336 yards into the left portion of the fairway.
Left with just a wedge into the par-5, McIlroy hit a safe second shot to about 33 feet left of the green and two-putted for birdie.
Spaun, meanwhile, found the right rough off the tee and narrowly avoided the water on his approach, ultimately finding a greenside bunker for the first time all week. After an average third, he two-putted for par to fall behind by a stroke.
But that deficit would get larger in a hurry.
After McIlroy found the putting surface at the famed par-3 17th with an abbreviated 9-iron back into the breeze, Spaun flushed an 8-iron over the green and into the water.
And while his third shot from the drop zone stayed dry, the 34-year-old still found himself more than 42 feet from the cup and ultimately took three more shots en route to a triple-bogey six. Rory actually bogeyed the hole after a three-putt but still took a three-shot lead into the last.
McIlroy ended up making a bogey at the 18th as well after hitting his tee shot into the right rough, but it didn't matter at that point, as he had the tournament in hand. Spaun didn't even finish the hole, allowing Rory to putt out to clinch his second Players Championship victory.
Rory McIlroy has again won @THEPLAYERS! 🏆🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2025
He conquers the conditions, the course and the competition for his 28th PGA TOUR victory. pic.twitter.com/7ReCgMMwSU
In becoming the first European player with two victories at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy collected the $4.5 million winner's share of the $25 million purse and also earned 750 FedEx Cup points, thus vaulting him into the top spot in the standings.
Final payouts for every player at the 2025 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass
While Spaun has to be disappointed with how the playoff went, he still collected $2.725 million for his efforts this week at TPC Sawgrass, which is a nice consolation prize.
In addition to McIlroy and Spaun, three others took home seven figures, as Lucas Glover, Tom Hoge, and Akshay Bhatia each earned $1.325 million by tying for third.
Here's a look at the final payouts for every player who made the cut at the 2025 Players Championship.
Position | Player | Score | Payout |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Rory McIlroy | -12 (Won playoff) | $4,500,000 |
2 | J.J. Spaun | -12 | $2,725,000 |
T3 | Tom Hoge | -10 | $1,325,000 |
T3 | Akshay Bhatia | -10 | $1,325,000 |
T3 | Lucas Glover | -10 | $1,325,000 |
T6 | Danny Walker | -9 | $843,750 |
T6 | Corey Conners | -9 | $843,750 |
T6 | Bud Cauley | -9 | $843,750 |
9 | Robert MacIntyre | -8 | $731,250 |
T10 | Collin Morikawa | -7 | $656,250 |
T10 | Davis Thompson | -7 | $656,250 |
T12 | Jake Knapp | -6 | $556,250 |
T12 | Patrick Cantlay | -6 | $556,250 |
T14 | Aaron Rai | -5 | $418,750 |
T14 | Tommy Fleetwood | -5 | $418,750 |
T14 | Denny McCarthy | -5 | $418,750 |
T14 | Sam Ryder | -5 | $418,750 |
T14 | Sepp Straka | -5 | $418,750 |
T14 | Alex Smalley | -5 | $418,750 |
T20 | Keegan Bradley | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Ryan Fox | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Joe Highsmith | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Matt McCarty | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Daniel Berger | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Shane Lowry | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Scottie Scheffler | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Min Woo Lee | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Max McGreevy | -4 | $240,250 |
T20 | Stephan Jaeger | -4 | $240,250 |
T30 | Harris English | -3 | $163,750 |
T30 | Will Zalatoris | -3 | $163,750 |
T30 | Russell Henley | -3 | $163,750 |
T33 | Justin Thomas | -2 | $136,250 |
T33 | Taylor Moore | -2 | $136,250 |
T33 | J.T. Poston | -2 | $136,250 |
T33 | Rico Hoey | -2 | $136,250 |
T33 | Kurt Kitayama | -2 | $136,250 |
T38 | Davis Riley | -1 | $111,250 |
T38 | Justin Lower | -1 | $111,250 |
T38 | Taylor Pendrith | -1 | $111,250 |
T38 | Si Woo Kim | -1 | $111,250 |
T42 | Jesper Svensson | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Mac Meissner | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Matt Kuchar | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Billy Horschel | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Tom Kim | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Hayden Springer | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Chris Kirk | E | $81,687.50 |
T42 | Ryan Gerard | E | $81,687.50 |
T50 | Jacob Bridgeman | +1 | $63,500 |
T50 | Beau Hossler | +1 | $63,500 |
T52 | Sahith Theegala | +2 | $60,750 |
T52 | Byeong Hun An | +2 | $60,750 |
T54 | Joel Dahmen | +3 | $58,250 |
T54 | Camilo Villegas | +3 | $58,250 |
T54 | Matthieu Pavon | +3 | $58,250 |
T54 | Carson Young | +3 | $58,250 |
T54 | Charley Hoffman | +3 | $58,250 |
59 | Jordan Spieth | +4 | $56,750 |
60 | Jhonattan Vegas | +5 | $56,250 |
T61 | Austin Eckroat | +6 | $54,500 |
T61 | Will Chandler | +6 | $54,500 |
T61 | Chandler Phillips | +6 | $54,500 |
T61 | Sungjae Im | +6 | $54,500 |
T61 | Trey Mullinax | +6 | $54,500 |
T61 | Cameron Young | +6 | $54,500 |
67 | Emiliano Grillo | +7 | $52,750 |
68 | Isaiah Salinda | +8 | $52,250 |
T69 | C.T. Pan | +9 | $51,500 |
T69 | Sami Valimaki | +9 | $51,500 |
71 | Rickie Fowler | +12 | $50,750 |
72 | Xander Schauffele | +13 | $50,250 |